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About Us

We are a family who have had our lives shattered through illness. After months of chemo and radio therapy we retreated to our holiday apartment in Kent. We always knew this place was special, but its healing quality of total relaxation, listening to the lapping waves, enabled us to take a breath together and find hope again.

Being a family with a seemingly perfect life – a beautiful, talented daughter, glamorous jobs in the music industry, lots of travel, a lovely home in Surrey – we lived our lives at what felt like 90 miles per hour. Our only tensions were what great event or holidays we couldn’t fit in… Our full stop came when my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 aggressive cancer.

It was devastating and frightening; we went through the next months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy shellshocked and numb to the core… Then the oncologist told my husband that he was permitted 6 weeks to recover before major surgery. Not being able to travel far, we escaped to our holiday apartment in Kent.

I always knew this place was special but I can’t stress enough that I believe the apartment saved our family. Tapping into the local community of experts in wellness therapies and healing practices combined with total relaxation by the sea, enabled him and us to get strong again. This experience has completely changed our outlook on life and made us realise how precious life is and how fragile we are.

Our recovery time was filled with blissful waves soothing us to sleep at night, clean sea air and walks on the beach and so much love and help from the amazing creative and skilled local community here.

Walking by the shore each day and going on long runs along the beach helped me find the strength I needed to cope. I found strong positive words – mantras – popping into my head… It shall pass, Find a way, Faith not fear, Let it go, Just love, Onward…

When fear tried to gain a hold, ‘What if… what if…’, these words kept me going. They became my daily lifeline – my affirmations and my sanity. I had them pinned to walls, scribbled in books, set as my screensaver – a new mantra coming to me as the next chapter began.

My Mantras

It shall pass

Through months of treatment this were the only words

Find a way

Hope is everything

Faith not Fear

Believing things were get better was hard

Let it go

Not sweating the small stuff

Just love

Always treating people with love is key

Onward

Putting as much as possible behind us and looking forward

Our life is still not ‘back to normal’ by any measure – as anyone who has suffered a major life changing experience will know. But this time has had such a profound effect on me, that after 10 years working at a high level in the music industry, I felt an overwhelming call to step away from it all and make a difference to others who are going through similar tough times themselves. This is where The Brightside was born.

The Brightside is for families and loved ones who want to enjoy time together. Simplicity is the essence of The Brightside.

Take stock of the little things, those precious moments with the ones you love. Embrace your senses and do it in style.